HHH Chapter 25 Serious laziness and a holy side quest.

After yesterday’s long walk, in the morning we relaxed and had a leisurely breakfast. I sent a 100th birthday card, with greetings in Welsh, to my husband’s aunt. She is having a party this week, which I will sadly miss.

We went down to Goodwick Harbor and walked along the long breakwater. Later we met another friend, L, who happened to be passing through on her way to visit her family. I was thrilled when he accepted my offer to show him some sacred wells.

The well at the end of the road..

L took us to the top of the headland south of Fishguard and Goodwick harbours. The road became a steep lane, which gradually narrowed and ended abruptly near a farm, at a place called Llanwnda. St Gwyndaf’s Church was set back from the road. Its cemetery had panoramic views over the sea and the distant cliffs to the north and south. Inside the church there were wonderful ceiling beams, some with ancient carvings, and a special viewing hole in the porch wall, called a squint, which allowed lepers and other infected people to view the services.

The church itself was quiet and fascinating, but we were actually looking for the holy well.

But where was the well?

We crossed a path outside the cemetery, went through some bushes and entered a small forest, full of birds and ferns.

A small path wound through bushes to reveal the well, water slowly dripping from beneath a heavy keystone into a small drain. The well is called Ffynnon Wanda.

The well was connected to the monastery that Saint Gwyndaf established in the early 6th century. Their goal was holy isolation, and the monks also cared for the small local population of the cape. Thus, the water from the well was used for baptisms.

Saint Gwyndaf’s father was a king, in what is now Brittany, part of France, whose other saintly descendants include Saint Gwen Teirbron (Gwen of the Three Breasts). Saint Gwyndaf was married to Gwenonwy, herself a noble and holy woman. Their two children became saints, a son named Hywyn and a daughter, Meugan. Medieval pilgrims heading to the famous shrine of St Davids passed through Llanwnda and stopped at the church.

The well structure we can see now was not fully documented until the last decades of the 20th century, although clearly the spring has been in use for centuries. This makes it something of a modern holy well, and the structure itself appears to be inspired by the prehistoric burial chambers scattered on the nearby hillsides. We dipped our hands in the water and looked through the opening into the well chamber. It felt secretive, mysterious and sacred, despite the stones’ shorter history. People still place offerings of flowers, pebbles or shells there.

L was then happy to continue our search for wells by driving again over the headland and into a beautiful valley south-east of Fishguard.

A well of curses, wishes and healings.

We headed inland, along a winding mountain road through forests and pastures. Hardly visible from the road, behind high hedges, we find the isolated church of Llanllawer and its sacred well. The 19th century church is in ruins and we have not been able to enter. As a whole, it is located within a large elliptical enclosure, in which the cemetery is located. This is believed to indicate an ancient, pre-Christian origin. Christian sites often occupied sites of older sacred traditions in Wales. The well was easy to find, hidden in the corner of the field amongst lush grass, some of which grew on the side of the well chamber, which is dedicated to St Gapan. I don’t know anything about Gapan and it seems like no one else does either.

We could enter by opening a scarlet door adorned with offerings of cloth. The inside was mossy and damp. Other visitors had left pebbles as offerings. I myself tied a small strip of cloth to the door and dipped my hand in the water.

This well is known for its healing effects, especially for eye problems, and people used to leave pins or coins here as healing offerings. However, the pins may be bent instead of straight. If the pins were bent, it became a “cursing pit,” and the person who deposited the bent pin hoped to harm or curse another person. Only some sacred wells are also wells of curse. We didn’t see any bent pins and we wish only good things to the well’s visitors. L had to continue his journey and dropped us off at Fishguard. It had been a wonderful, relaxing way to see two very memorable wells.

Lazing around at the end of the day.

After returning to the city, J and I enjoyed a bit of lazing on a nice terrace behind a bar/restaurant. We had tea, J read his book and I drew the view. There was a huge cruise ship moored off the coast, but I didn’t add it to the sketch because it looked so strange! We had dinner at the restaurant and headed to our rooms to get a good night’s sleep.

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